William Kauffman Scarborough (January 17, 1933 - May 17, 2020) was a professor emeritus of history at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. He was the Charles W. Moorman Distinguished Alumni Professor in the Humanities from 1996 to 1998. He was an outspoken opponent of school integration and supporter of

massive resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

, believing white people to be the "superior race" and black people to be "genetically inferior." He was a member of the

Citizens' Councils The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash a ...

. Scarborough was a featured interviewee in the

Stanley Nelson Jr. Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. (born June 7, 1951) is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 N ...

film ''

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...

''. Scarborough spoke at the

Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

on the subject of the secession of South Carolina.

Personal

Scarborough was born in Baltimore, Maryland to James Blaine Scarborough and Julia Irene Scarborough (née Kauffman). His mother, a nurse, served with the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. His father earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1923 and served for three decades as a professor at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in Annapolis, Maryland. The elder Scarborough published ''Numerical Mathematical Analysis'' (1930), a book considered fundamental to the development of computers in the 1940s. Scarborough earned his B.A at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1954, and soon after, he married Patricia Estelle Carruthers. Together, they had two children. Having received an officer's commission via the Navy ROTC, he served from 1954 to 1956 as a gunnery officer on the

USS New Jersey (BB-62) USS ''New Jersey'' (BB-62) is an , and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the US state of New Jersey. She was often referred to fondly as "Big J". ''New Jersey'' earned more battle stars for combat actions than the ...

. He earned his M.A. at Cornell and completed his doctorate under

Fletcher Melvin Green Fletcher Melvin Green (1895 - 1978) was a historian and writer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a faculty member from 1936 until 1960 and served as a department chair. The University has a collection of his papers. H ...

at the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1962. Between 1961 and 1963, he taught at

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

in Jackson, Mississippi. Because he stridently supported Governor

Ross Barnett Ross Robert Barnett (January 22, 1898November 6, 1987) was the Governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation. Early life Background and learning Born in Standing Pine in Leake County ...

and vocally criticized administrators at the college, the college chose not to renew his employment contract. Beginning in Fall 1963, he taught for a year at

Northeast Louisiana University The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

before accepting an appointment the following Fall at

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

where he remained until his retirement. The records of his work, 27 feet and 8500 documents, including materials associated with the

, are archived at the University of North Carolina libraries. Scarborough died in May 2020.

Selected publications

*''Overseer: Plantation Management in the Old South'' *''Diary of Edmund Ruffin: Days of Independence, October 1856 - April 1861'' * ''Diary of Edmund Ruffin: The Days of Hope, April 1861 - June 1863'' * ''Diary of Edmund Ruffin: A Dream Shattered, June 1863 - June 1865'' * ''Masters of the Big House: Elite Slaveholders of the Mid-Nineteenth-Century South'' * ''The Allstons of Chicora Wood: Wealth, Honor, and Gentility in the South Carolina Lowcountry'' * ''"''Slavery — The White Man's Burden" * "Heritage, not hate. Let's keep the state flag"''''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarborough, William K. 1933 births 2020 deaths University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Education segregation in Mississippi Cornell University alumni Citizens' Councils members Educators from Baltimore Proponents of scientific racism